Champ Jesper Hougaard (ImageMasters)

Hougaard Turns it Around

What a difference an hour makes. Jesper Hougaard swung the momentum back in his favor, outlasting Cody Slaubaugh to win the bracelet. Hougaard earns $610,304 for first place. Slaubaugh takes home $389,128 for second.

Before the dinner break, it looked like Cody Slaubaugh was about to run away with the bracelet. But after an hour break, Slaubaugh's hot streak had cooled and Hougaard took control. Cody looked nervous, and his fans got quiet. Jesper's friends got louder and rowdier as Hougaard took pot after pot from Slaubaugh.

With the stacks about even, Slaubaugh raises to 150k. Hougaard reraises to 500k, and Cody tanks before bumping it up to 1.3 million. Jesper painstakingly counts his chips, then moves all in, and Slaubaugh calls with A-T. Hougaard tables Q-Q, and they shake hands before the dealer lays out the flop - Q 8 2. As soon as he sees his set, Hougaard jumps into his friends, screaming and pumping his fist. Slaubaugh keeps his eyes down until the 5 on the turn makes it official. The Ace on the river is just mean.

This was Hougaard's first final table appearance and his third WSOP cash. The Danish player finished 38th in the $1,500 NLHE shoot-out earlier in the Series and cashed in last year's Main Event. This was Slaubaugh's first final table experience as well and his fourth WSOP cash. Playing under the alias "thugmoneymkr," Cody is much feared online.

Heads Up About Face

Wow, talk about a momentum change. Jesper Hougaard began heads up play with a 7:1 chip advantage over Cody Slaubaugh. Six hands later, he's at a 2:1 deficit. Slaubaugh's side of the stands has taken control of the room while their man took control of the table. Cody's friends, including Shannon Shorr, are cheering after each move he makes, and Jesper's fans are looking a little nervous. After some debate, Hougaard and Slaubaugh decided to take the scheduled 60-minute dinner break. Hmm, I wonder who wanted a time out.

Slaubaugh won five of the six hands they played heads up, and he now leads with 4.8 million chips to Hougaard's 2.5 million. Cody doubled up on the first hand. He raised to 150k and Hougaard shoved over top. Slaubaugh called with A-T, dominating Jesper's Q-T. Hougaard's lucky streak didn't hold out, and the board brought him no help. Cody took down another huge pot with A-T, calling a 650k bluff from Hougaard, who mucked the second Slaubaugh called.

Heads Up

Jesper Hougaard is on the mother of all rushes. He has been bullying the table all day, but he stepped up the domination in the last hour, bulldozing Danny Wong and Aaron Kanter in quick succession. Hougaard is now heads up with more than a 7:1 chip lead over Cody Slaubaugh. The players are taking a break while the bracelet is brought to the table. When they return, Slaubaugh will try to take his 880,000 as far as he can against Hougaard's 6.5 million.

Wong Move

Jesper Hougaard took out Danny Wong in 4th place ($217,110). Wong was down to 380k after doubling up Aaron Kanter. On Wong's final hand, Aaron raises UTG, and Danny shoves from the SB. Hougaard moves in over top, and Kanter gets out of the way. Wong's K K is leading Hougaard's A 5. But the flop is very, very bad for Danny. The dealer lays out Q T 6, giving Jesper the nut flush. An 8 on the turn means Wong is drawing dead. He picks up his fifth WSOP cash and adds a WSOP final table to his EPT and WPT appearances.

Giant Killer Slayed

Next, Hougaard the luck-box busted Aaron "the Giant Killer" Kanter in 3rd place ($258,862).  Jesper raises to 150k on the button, and Kanter moves in for 755k. Hougaard actually thinks about this call for a few moments before calling with K J. Kanter's Q Q is looking good after the A 4 3 flop, and it seems he might survive Hougaard's rush when the turn is the harmless 7. But the K spikes on the river, and Hougaard's cheering section explodes. Kanter looks a bit stunned and waits patiently for Jesper to finish celebrating to shake his hand. Aaron is used to seeing suck outs from the other side. He hit some narrow draws to finish 4th at the Main Event in 2005 for a payday of more than $2 million.

Slow and Steady

The final four have maintained their methodical pace and tight play. We only saw a few flops in the last hour, and Aaron Kanter doubled up on one of them. Jesper Hougaard raises from the SB to 395k, enough to put Kanter all in. Aaron calls with K-T, dominating Jesper's K-5. The board runs out K 8 3 T 4, boosting Kanter's stack to 675,000.

Hougaard still has a more than 2 million chip lead over Cody Slaubaugh, and Danny Wong is now the shortest at the table, holding on to 440,000.

Hitting the Wald

Justin Wald ended his tournament run in 6th place, picking up $140,286. A super-short-stacked Doug Middleton doubled through Wald. On the next hand, Danny Wong limps and Wald and Jesper Hougaard check from the blinds to see the J J 4 flop. Wald bet out 50k, and Hougaard and Wong call. Check-check-check for the K on the turn. Wald shoved on the 5 river, prompting a fold from Hougaard. Wong called, showing two for a flush. A crestfallen Wald mucked his trip Jacks (Q-J) and headed for the exit.

Stuck in the Middleton

Three hands after Wald's departure, Doug Middleton busted in 5th place for $177,028. Hougaard raises to 78k from the hijack, and Middleton moves in the rest of his 412,000 from the SB. After quite a bit of table talk, Hougaard make the call, tabling pocket 3s. With A-Q, Middleton is in a race for his tournament life. The board ran out J J 2 5 3, ending Middleton's day.

This is the first WSOP cash for both Wald and Middleton.

The remaining four players are off to clear their heads for 20 minutes. Jesper Hougaard has a huge lead with 4.28 million. Cody Slaubaugh, Hougaard's closest challenger, has 1.7 million. Danny Wong dropped to 820,000, and Aaron Kanter has managed to hang on so far but is still the short stack with 480,000.

Tight and Torpid

We haven't seen too many cards at this final table. In just under three hours, there have only been 56 hands dealt. Rick Solis was the third player to be eliminated, departing on hand #34 - only the ninth time the dealer spread a flop. Since becoming six-handed about 50 minutes ago, they've played 22 hands and seen four flops. The felt is getting cold, guys.

No Solace for Solis

Rick Solis busted in 7th place for a cash of $106,884.

Jesper Hougaard raises to 62k and Solis calls on the button. Both check the highly-coordinated Q T 9 flop. Hougaard bet 76k on the 9 turn, and Solis moved in with J T. Jesper tabled A 3 for the flopped nut flush. The J on the river gave Solis two pair but not the boat he needed to stay afloat. Solis picks up his first WSOP cash.

After taking out Solis, Hougaard was up to almost 3 million in chips.  Aaron Kanter doubled through him a few hands later, knocking Jesper back to 2.75 million.  He still has a 1.15 million chip lead.

Eating Crowe

Owen Crowe flew the coop in 8th place, earning $81,833.

Crowe raises to 55k, and BB Danny Wong calls to see the A 9 8 flop. Wong check-called a 70,000 bet from Crowe. Danny checked again after the A on the turn, and Owen bet 225k. Wong responded with a shove, and Crowe called with A 7 for trip Aces. Wong tabled K 6 and made his flush with a 5 on the river to eliminate Crowe. A Canadian online player, Crowe picks up his third WSOP cash.

Jesper Hougaard is still in the chip lead, just crossing the 2 million mark. After busting Crowe, Danny Wong is second with 1.7 million, and Cody Slaubaugh is only 200k behind.

Final Table Excitement

The energy at the ESPN final table is palpable. The final nine are all excited to be at the felt. The stands are filled with family and friends, most of whom seem more tense than the players themselves. Only Aaron Kanter and John Shipley have made previous WSOP final table appearances (at Main Events, no less), and Danny Wong has EPT and WPT final tables on his resume. The rest are adjusting to final tables, at least live final tables, for the first time.

Aaron Kanter was the shortest stack at the table, but he wasted no time in doubling his stack. Kanter shoved on the first hand to find his A-7 way behind Cody Slaubaugh's A-J. With 9 8 2 flop and a Queen on the turn, Kanter looked ready to pack his things. But he hit is three-outer with 7 on the river to double through Slaubaugh. Aaron is still pretty short stacked with around 370,000. Cody dropped to 1.52 million, and Jesper Hougaard is the new chip leader with 1.84 million.

Ship Out

John Shipley was the first to exit the final table, taking home 9th place and $56,782.

Slaubaugh raises to 55,000, and Shipley shipped it for the third time in six hands. It was off to the races for Slaubaugh's J J and Shipley's K Q. The board ran out 9 5 4 6 T, sending Shipley to the rail. The pro from the UK brought the most WSOP experience to the table, having made four previous final table appearances. He finished 7th in the Main Event in 2002.

Cody Slaubaugh and Jesper Hougaard took control by the end of Day 2, knocking out players left and right and devouring their chips. Slaubaugh will begin the final table as chip leader with 1.59 million. Hougaard trails him with 1.35 million. Danny Wong, who led the field for most of the day, is still in the hunt, bringing 1.1 million to the table. Aaron Kanter begins the day as the short stack, but he has the final table experience to make a come back. They don't call him the "Giant Killer" for nothing. Cards hit the final table felt at 2 p.m. PDT.

End of Day 2 chip counts and payout information: